Zenith: Dead Man's Chest (POTC Fanfiction - Jack Sparrow)

Chapter 3: Hanging Out With Cannibals

A/N: Okay, okay, slap me if you want, I deserve it. *tear* I feel like when I say I was busy trying to figure out how to write out this chapter I'm lying even though I'm really not. I feel like I'm giving lame excuses, but I honestly did find this chapter hard to write and I have been REALLY busy, as in like real busy, school has just started again. It started just yesterday and I already have three pages of homework for Maths, Science, English and I have to do a drawing of a shoe in Art! Damn it, I hate school. It makes me feel like crying.
The characters may be a bit OOC but it was hard trying to fit Annika into these scenes. I had to rewrite the chapter like five times before I finally knew what I was going to do. It was fun though! Sorry if it's a bit boring but this chapter does have more Jack/Annika signs! You just gotta look out for the little details I added! You'll notice them if you look hard enough. ;)
Ok, onto the story.

***

I'd honestly done some very peculiar things it my life, terrifying things, whether it was being left by Jack with the Navy to be hung in the gallows to the time where I was watching Barbossa and his crew in the cave, and then was caught redhanded. But nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, could be compared to what I was doing at that very moment.
What was I doing, you ask? Well... I was hanging out with a bunch of cannibals. It's the truth, honest. The cannibals were very dark humans with accessories created out of rotting sticks and bones, dead leaves and grass. Even coconut shells. And these particular cannibals... Well, they did just what their name said. They cannibalised on humans, hunted them. Horrible, it was.
You must be wondering how this happened. It's quite a long story, actually. After Jack's sudden outburst of fright about a day ago, he insisted we get to land. This part you know. When we got to land, Jack immediately hurried off of The Black Pearl and he didn't seem to know where he was going, though he didn't exactly care. He just wanted to avoid the ocean. That's when we got lost in the forest... And the crew was captured in a trap by the cannibals. I didn't know where they were at the moment, nor did I want to know. But Jack somehow managed to "negotiate" with the cannibals, convince them he was some sort of king or chief. And he did it... With a whole lot of stupid gibberish, that is. So, that's how Jack managed to survive, he was being fed fresh fruits while the cannibals rubbed his feet, decorated his face, put a crown on his head. Anything a king would be awarded. I wasn't angry at him, though, because he didn't seem to be enjoying being treated like a god like I thought he would. As a matter of fact, he seemed a little more on the horrified side, as if the cannibals would find out any moment that he wasn't a real king or god. I wouldn't exactly be feeling luxurious in the habitat of cannibals either.
How was I still alive, then? Ah, that's where it gets interesting. After Jack was decorated with paint and broken bones, seated on a stick-made throne and "awarded" the gift of being "king", the attention was taken off of him and was turned towards me. But I'd snuck off. Only about half an hour or so later I was found and put in a trap, but this time I had a plan. I had stolen some of the fresh water from the cannibals without them noticing before I ran off. I had a sip and then poured the entire coconut shell of water over the dirt on the ground. Very useful, mud can be. After that I covered myself in the filthy stuff, making my skin look brown, stuck a few leaves on my shirt as the mud dried, accessorised myself and such. When they found me... Well, it's not rocket science. They thought I was one of them. I felt a like a genius!
Now, we finally get to the part where I was currently helping a bunch of cannibals, male or female, I didn't even know. I was supposed to put some fruits on these enormously long bamboo sticks. It wasn't as easy as it looked. Putting a pineapple and coconut on a bamboo stick isn't exactly relaxing. I needed my muscle power to put them through, and even if I tried it took more than ten minutes to get one fruit on the stick.
"Bepa bepa, handi to?" One of the cannibals asked me, making me gulp in a deep breath.
"Uh, toto tola," I replied back with a shaky voice. What was I even saying? I would never know.
The cannibal let out a noise like 'ooooh' as if it could understand my random bizarre syllables, and turned back to the coconut it was putting on the stick. I sighed in relief and turned to my stick, almost groaning in annoyance when I saw that I'd only put a pineapple and a mango on it. I was going to die. This was it. I would have to live with cannibals for the rest of my life.
"Hela cod!" I heard Jack order from his so called throne, swinging his arms around. The cannibal he was communicating with nodded and hurried off to go do something I would rather never know about.
I looked up from my work, holding in a guffaw at the way the cannibals had painted Jack's face. It looked like he had several eyes going down from his eyelids to the end of his face. When he closed his eyes, it looked like they were actually wide open since eyes were painted on his face. Bloody hilarious.
As I stared, my face reddening from holding in my laughs, Jack looked over at me and caught my eye, shifting in his seat. I grinned comfortingly, trying to lighten the tense mood, while he just smirked, winked at me and turned away. Did he honestly have to flirt all the time, even in life and death situations? Honestly, he was a mess.
"Eheh!" A cannibal shouted at me, and I jumped in the air. Hesitantly turning to look at the cannibal, my eyes widened when I saw it giving me a suspicious stare. I gulped. I'd need to work if I didn't want them to get too suspecting.
I huffed and turned back to the coconut I was still trying to put on the stick, and grunted in annoyance when it wouldn't go through. "ARGH, BLOODY FU-" I began to curse when I scratched my palm on the coconut, but clamped my mouth as cannibal stared at me in surprise.
"Uh..." I stuttered. It stared at me expectantly. "Eh, ydoolb kcuf?" (If you can figure out what she's saying here, what a smarty pants, you are ;D ). The cannibal eyed me suspiciously one more time before turning away and making a rush of relief run throughout my heart and soul.
Turning back to the stick with a relieved smile, I got ready to begin stabbing the life out of that coconut. I would murder it, crush it's soul, stab it to bits. THIS COCONUT WAS GOING TO LISTEN TO ME OR IT WAS GOING TO BE THROWN AT SOMEONE'S HEAD!
As I stabbed the coconut with the stick, I willed (WILLed lol pun not intended) it in my head to go through. I felt the tiniest bit of exhaustion, satisfaction and pride when it finally slipped through. My face stretched into a grin and I was about to cheer excitedly but closed my mouth instantly when I remembered my situation. God, I was extremely excited for putting a coconut through a stick when my life was literally in danger? I needed to sort out my priorities.
Just as I reached for a mango, I heard the deafening bang of a drum and the pounding slung of continuous drumming began. What was going on? I looked up, glancing around at everyone who'd stopped working to watch excitedly as another big group of cannibals came rushing past all the huts and such, scurrying up to Jack who'd closed his eyes, knowing what they'd brought him. They'd gone hunting earlier, so there was a 99.9 percent chance they'd brought a human, perhaps a crew member of ours. Oh, I was praying for that not to happen.
I bit my lip and immediately regretted it, getting some dirt in my mouth. Gross! I gagged and shook my head, trying my best not to wipe my mouth since the mid would be wiped off my lighter skin would be exposed. I ignored the foul taste in my mouth and followed all of the others as they scampered over to the hunters, trying to get a look at the human they'd caught. The drums got even louder and louder, and finally they came to a stop, causing an intense silence to ring in my ears. Jack finally managed to summon up the courage to open his eyes.
I moved a little to the side to get a good view of the person, and I gasped, my own eyes widening to the size of the fancy plates the rich people at Port Royal owned. No, oh, honestly! Him? It couldn't be! But I knew it was. Right in front of my very eyes was Will Turner suspended by his arms and legs by a rope tying him to a long bamboo stick. His dark hair was a little bit longer, but it wasn't noticeable at all. He hadn't changed much, he was still his same old self. I covered my mouth in surprise as I watched him hang limply from the stick upside down, the cannibals who'd hunted him holding him up with the bamboo stick easily. He cringed and opened his eyes, squinting to get a better look at where he'd been taken. When he spotted Jack, who was still and emotionless, his eyes looked as if they might've popped out and he stared in confusion for a moment.
"Jack?" He whispered in a low tone, thinking he might have been going mad. His eyes immediately lit up when he realised he was right. This was Jack, the man himself. His tone lifted up and he laughed in relief. "Jack Sparrow! I can honestly say I'm glad to see you!"
Jack simply stared at Will as if he'd never seen him before in his life. Well, what did I expect? We were trying to not die. We all watched in curiosity as Jack stood up slowly while holding something which looked like a huge feather duster. He stepped away from his throne and staggered slightly while eyeing Will over, poking his shoulder and scanning his neck. He gave Will a shake of his head and turned to speak to the cannibals with an expression that said, "He's not good kill."
"Wa see kon," He bellowed in the random language the cruel creatures seemed to understand.
"En delah. Iseepi," one cannibal seemed to argue back.
"Iseepi!" The other cannibals repeated. This was giving me a headache.
Will looked confused, cocking his eyebrow in utter puzzlement. He was probably wondering how Jack managed to communicate with those things. "Jack, tell them to let me down!" Will frantically said, shifting uncomfortably.
Jack simply eyed him once more before turning back to cannibals. "Kay lay lem. Lem... piki-piki," Jack exclaimed, making the cannibals start to consider what he was... Saying? I didn't even know. "Lem eensey weensey."
Jack turned away and bent down, gesturing to Will's groin and making a gesture most likely meaning 'small' with his thumb and index finger before saying, "Lem say say... Eunuchy. Snip snip." Okay, this was hilarious, I had to admit it. Jack was a complete jerk but that didn't mean he wasn't funny. Will stared, noticing what Jack was talking about, and scoffed. He glared, hoping Jack didn't mean what he thought he meant. This was honestly too much information for me.
Jack stood back up straight as the cannibals all nodded. "Ah, eunuchy!" They agreed, inspecting Will. His face fell. I tried my best not to laugh.
Jack nodded in approval, about to turn away and walk off when Will spoke up again in a panicked voice. "Jack, the compass! That's all I need, Elizabeth is in danger!" Her again? Why was it always her? "We were arrested for trying to help you! She faces the gallows!"
Jack stood still for a moment, looking from side to side in thought. After a brief moment, he spun around and marched back over to Will and the group of hunter cannibals.
"Say say sam, shoop shoop shah sai lama shoo koo. Savvy?" Jack spoke. What the actual hell was that all about? "Ball licky licky." Ugh. Gross.
The cannibals paused, thinking about this for a moment before screaming, "Ball licky licky!"
Jack inhaled and turned away, hurrying over to where Will hung. "Save me," he whispered before scampering back to his throne. Will's eyes widened in shock and anger. The cannibals began to chant as they carried him away.
"Jack, what did you tell them?" He roared. "No, what about Elizabeth?" Screw Elizabeth, I wasn't about to die because of her! "JACK!" With that, Will was carried away to probably be put with the rest of the meal. The crew. But just before the group of cannibals blocked my view of him, he caught sight of me and gasped, staring in utter shock as recognition came over his features before he was taken away from my sight.
Oh, no. This was bad, this was really really really bad. I was going to die, we were going to die, EVERYONE WAS GOING TO DIE! No. I had to stay calm. They were already suspecting me. But what was I going to do?
I glanced around for a moment to see if any of the monsterous creatures were looking at me before I dropped my stick of fruits quietly and ran to Jack where he sat. I needed to speak to a human with human language, or I would go insane!
I shuddered as I listened to the drums start up again and the cannibals roar in excitement of their new meal. I stumbled to Jack, waiting impatiently as one of the cannibals put a necklace on his neck and walked away just as he said thank you. I grimaced when I noticed it was made of toes.
"Jack!" I whispered with wide eyes. Jack tensed and looked up, something like relief in his chocolate eyes. I knew he was probably hoping to speak to someone who was a normal human being with feelings, too.
"What are you doing? Are you trying to get the bloke killed?" I questioned with a harsh tone, referring to Will.
Jack ignored this and cracked a nervous grin. He smugly snuggled into the throne, even though it probably wasn't very comfortable. He just wanted to annoy me but I seriously wasn't in the mood. "You should keep that mud on you. It suits you well."
I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "Jack, this is serious! We are going to die if we don't do something!"
Jack laughed my frantic statement off but I noticed how his shoulders tensed and the glimmer in his eyes died away. "Relax, love, I'm Captain Jack Sparrow! Did you ever consider the reason to why I was chosen as chief?" I growled under my breath and clenched my hands into fists.
"I don't give a damn about your reputation, I just want to avoid being cooked over a fire and cut up for the monsters to eat me!" I whisper-yelled, leaning over closer to Jack, close enough that I could see my reflection in his dark eyes and being only inches away.
Jack's breathing became uneven and his breaths were short. He stuttered for a moment before whispering back anxiously, "Hm, I dunno, maybe I'd make a good meal. Who wouldn't want to eat me? Not you, I bet, savvy?"
I ignored this. That self-absorbent jerk-face! He didn't care, did he? He didn't care about anything but himself! I did not plan for my headstone over my grave to say, "Here Lies Annika Hesture, Killed By The Cannibalism Of Heartless Man-Eating People."
"Ah, now. Come on, love. I know I'd make a good meal for you." Jack tried to wink but failed miserably as I leaned even closer, exposing my teeth threateningly. I could literally taste Jack's breath by now, and even though he hadn't drunk any in a while, it tasted a little like rum and some strange mix of bananas and coconuts. I would've gladly moved away in that moment but I wanted to send him the message that even if he was my captain, I wouldn't hesitate to kill him.
"If you get me killed... I'll. Kill. You," I snarled, hoping the hatred in my voice didn't go through one of his ears and out the other. I wanted him to fear me!
Jack shifted uncomfortably. "Well, technically, you can't kill the person who you desire to kill if you've already been killed by another person who desired to kill you unless you kill the person who you wished to kill before that person gets you killed. So and so forth."
Okay, moment ruined. My eye twitched in annoyance. I tried to keep a straight face and pulled away, trying to hide the grin I'd cracked for a moment. It was more of a stressed smile, where it was sarcastic and irritated, but it also felt a little amused. I couldn't have found this funny, could I? He was being a jerk, but it was strangely refreshing and lifting. It made me feel a little better about the situation, I was eternally grateful for the fact that I wasn't alone and I was at least with someone I was used to. I sighed and span around, hoping that Jack hadn't seen my grin, but I knew he did. And he was probably feeling very victorious about it. I huffed and hurried back to where I'd dropped my stick of fruits. I decided to just shut up unless I was "spoken" to. I wasn't ready to die just yet.

***

I had a terrible feeling all of a sudden. It had been about an hour since we saw Will, and my gut was twisting and churning for some strange reason.
I had finished with putting fruits on sticks and didn't bother to help with anything else. I pretended I was working when I was really just stealing the fresh pineapple pieces from the cannibal dude who was cutting them up. That creature didn't suspect a thing!
As I sat behind one of the huts munching on the pineapple pieces in pure bliss, I heard Jack begin to shout orders. I peaked out and rolled my eyes when I saw him swinging his arms around yelling things like, "BIG FIRE! BIG FIRE! Make it bigger, I'm the chief!"
What was he doing? Oh, no, the nervous feeling in my stomach got worse. I was instantly reminded of the several times Jack had betrayed me and that's when I dropped my juicy pineapple pieces.
He wouldn't. Would he?
My thoughts were almost instantly proved wrong. When the cannibals rushed to put more gigantic clocks of wood in the fire, Jack bolted away to the bridge over the cliff. When the cannibals turned to see that he was gone, they roared in fury and began a search immediately. Wait. This was... THIS WAS MY CHANCE!
I chuckled and grinned, hopping up excitedly and sneaking away so easily it was like taking candy from a baby! Oh, I felt free! I followed Jack's path, avoiding several cannibals who were nearby. One of them turned around with a spear in its hand and I gasped and hid behind a hut. When it wasn't looking, I sighed in relief and hurried over to the long bridge over the edge of a cliff. With a gulp, I carefully scurried over it, hoping to the heavens that I wouldn't fall to my death. It didn't take long but I finally got to the other side of the cliff. I felt so free! But I couldn't be off my guard yet. There were still several huts lying around here and there, however, it seemed all the cannibals were gone either hunting or searching for Jack. I smiled and just as I was about to hurry into one of the huts to search for weapons, Jack stumbled out with a rope in his hand and a can of... Paprika? What the hell?
He span around while swaying unknowingly and when he saw me, he grinned his toothy grin, but that only got me more furious. He was just so evil, there weren't even any words to explain my hatred for him in that moment. I glared while he only smiled like an idiot, thinking I would crack another grin. I was not that easy to play! I felt so ANRGY! After all we'd been through he still thought he had the authority to leave me for dead? Really? My fury was overflowing. But it all disappeared when Jack's smile fell and he looked behind me. I bit my lip and gulped, turning to see a couple of cannibals holding baskets of freshly picked fruits just next to us... and all of the others behind them with sharp weapons.
"Oh, bugger," Jack mumbled.
My breath caught. Great. We were dead, we were gone! I almost slammed Jack's face into the ground and threw him off the cliff when he dropped the rope he was holding and began stupidly shaking the paprika on his underarms.
WAS HE TRYING TO GET THEM TO BE MORE TEMPTED TO EAT US? Wait. They would only eat him. They thought I was one of them! I almost jumped in joy, but I managed to compose myself.
"Ahem Tata lama brim," I spoke, willing them to know that I wanted them to capture Jack. What? So it was alright for him to betray me like FOUR times but it was horrible when I did it once? NUH-UH! The world is a cruel place, and that's just the way it works. No one can change that.
The cannibals went, "Ah!" They turned their attention to Jack who was still nervously shaking the paprika all over himself.
"Little seasoning, eh?" He said. I always say I almost face-palm. But that time, I really did it, and the cannibals stared at me like I was crazy before their eyes widened. I stared in confusion before it hit me like a ton of bricks. I touched my forehead and gasped when I felt my smooth, pale skin and no rough mud. Oh, lovely. I'd accidentally wiped some off. Was the force of my face-palm truly that great?
Now I was dead. They'd discovered me. What a lovely day for some human barbecue indeed.